First and
foremost, not all Android phones will get Android 3.0 when it
launches in Q4 of this year. Only high end handsets, and
potentially tablets, will get the top of the line operating system.
Laggard models (also known as "entry level" smartphones)
will still run either Android 2.1/2.2, which will be kept alive by
minor updates.

For those who experience Android 3.0, the taste
will be sweet. The minimum spec calls for 1 GHz processors, 512
MB RAM, and a 3.5" display. Resolutions of 1280x760 will
be offered on displays 4" and larger, surpassing the iPhone
4's fancy "Retina Display". And some phones are
rumored to have 2 GHz processors (hopefully they'll come with a
hearty battery or employ significant die shrink power
savings).

Another drastic change in Android 3.0 is that Google
is killing off third-party user interface shells like Motorblur and
HTC Sense, by offering a faster, superior alternative. The new
built-in UI is reportedly similar to that seen in the Gallery app in
this clip,
with fluid animations and a photobook sort of feel to it.

The
wealth of information was leaked by Mobile-review.com’s Eldar
Murtazin in his Russian language/locale podcast "Digestiv."
This podcast has been translated by Unwired
News.

In
the podcast, Murtazin claims that the new OS will air to developers
and tinkerers in mid-October 2010. That will be followed by a
November/December series of hardware launches, just in time for the
Christmas season.

"If they're going to pirate somebody, we want it to be us rather than somebody else." -- Microsoft Business Group President Jeff Raikes